I don't imagine the Calgary Flames are very happy about getting waxed 6-1 by the Edmonton Oilers in Cowtown tonight, but they'd better get used to it because my guess is there's plenty more to come.

Now, I get it the above paragraph sounds like the giddy bravado of a fan boy with a Jordan Eberle namebar on the back of his pajamas, but I am neither residing in momma's basement, nor am I one Wanye Gretz, who has taken a break from worshipping at the Alter of Eberle in favor of some fun and frolic in Asia. Not so. No cheerleading here.

I'm just of the mind that what unfolded at the Saddledome tonight marks a milepost in the Battle of Alberta, an intersection of one team that's on the rise and another in decline and headed the opposite direction. That what we just saw tonight is the shape of things to come.

I know, get your head out of your backside, Brownlee. It's just one win and the Flames won the previous nine games. The BOA has been a one-sided beatdown for years. The Oilers don't have a hope in Hades of finishing within single digits of Calgary in Western Conference standings this season. The Oilers are again a lottery lock after back-to-back 30th-place finishes. They will miss the playoffs for the sixth straight season.

All that is true, of course, but I'd rather be walking in Steve Tambellini's shoes – even with all the miss-steps we've seen and will see -- than those of Calgary counterpart Jay Feaster when I look down the road at how the next several seasons are shaping up for the Oilers and Flames.

It isn't even close.

DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS

I had some fun with David Staples over The Journal's Cult of Hockey during the pre-season when he wondered out loud if the Oilers might overtake the Flames in the standings this season after finishing 32 points behind them in the 2010-11 season.

The Oilers won't make up all that ground between now and April 7, of course. That's a conclusion the always optimistic Staples reluctantly came to after parsing the numbers, even if he was no doubt wondering if he'd had it right after his men jumped out to an 8-2-2 start.

After what we saw tonight, I'm convinced Staples wasn't as much wrong as premature, a season early. I wouldn't bet even a dollar that the Flames will finish ahead of the Oilers in the standings next season. Not one buck.

Feaster's two best players are Jarome Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff. Both are 34. Alex Tanguay, 31, Mike Cammalleri, 29, and former Oiler Curtis Glencross, 28, still have something in the tank. So does overpaid Jay Bouwmeester. After that? I don't see a lot coming down the pipe, Grade A prospects, to take the torch.

Feaster also has pending UFAs in Olli Jokinen, Lee Stempniak, David Moss, Tom Kostopoulos, Tim Jackman, Cory Sarich and Scott Hannan. Simply put, a big chunk of Feaster's roster is aging, old or on the way out. They're more than good enough to finish ahead of the Oilers this season. Then what?

UP THE ROAD

Even with the flaws in the roster Tambellini has put together the past three seasons, he has pieces to the big rebuild picture Feaster has not assembled – Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, for starters. Who will the Oilers get with the second or third pick in June?

Tambellini's oldest players are transitional players – Andy Sutton, Darcy Hordichuk, Eric Belanger and Nikolai Khabibulin. Ryan Smyth, who just celebrated his 36th birthday and will be no better than a third-liner next season, if Tambellini puts this team together right, is also in that group.

Yes, holes remain. And there are also obvious questions about Tambellini's ability to make the right personnel moves to lift this team out of lottery territory and move it along into playoff contention in 2012-13 and beyond.

Tambellini has not provided overwhelming evidence, or anything close to it, to suggest confidence is in order. A bona fide starting goaltender, please and thank-you. Another real NHL defenseman or two would come in handy. Who will be Tambellini's second-line right winger? Etc.

All that said, it looked more obvious than ever -- even allowing for a Calgary line-up thinned by injuries -- what fans in both cities saw tonight was a telling glimpse of one team on the up escalator and another headed the other way, with no doubt remaining which is which.

Listen to Robin Brownlee Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the Jason Gregor Show on TEAM 1260.

A sports writer since 1983, including stints at The Edmonton Journal and The Sun 1989-2007, I happily co-host the Jason Gregor Show on TSN 1260 twice a week and write when so inclined. Have the best damn lawn on the internet. Most important, I am Sam's dad. Follow me on Twitter at Robin_Brownlee. Or don't.

Man, in the first 10 minutes of the game I saw Iginla get his "angry face" on after a battle in front of Dubnyk and I thought to myself "We are screwed.. Angry Iginla is an Oil killer." But then he just disappeared...along with the rest of the Flames. What the hell!?! I'll take it any day of the week though.

It's always exciting to see what this young Oiler squad is capable of...and really frustrating the other 76 games of the year. I can't wait for that to change.

All the Oiler's good players you mentioned above were draftees and a monkey could've made those picks save late first rounder Eberle...all had probably minimal direct input from Tambo. Tambo has to go. He needs some more managerial seasoning but I don't want him to get all this experience through Oiler managerial miscues.

What a great game....I will never tire of beating the Flames in their building.

@Brownlee

I have one question Robin, we are gonna have a lottery pick this year, that seems certain. Tambi will make a couple small moves at the deadline likely. What are the pieces that this team needs for next year so it makes the playoffs. No doubt, I can see management saying that is the goal publicly next year, and I think we have a lot of the pieces to get there. What else do we need?

What a great game....I will never tire of beating the Flames in their building.

@Brownlee

I have one question Robin, we are gonna have a lottery pick this year, that seems certain. Tambi will make a couple small moves at the deadline likely. What are the pieces that this team needs for next year so it makes the playoffs. No doubt, I can see management saying that is the goal publicly next year, and I think we have a lot of the pieces to get there. What else do we need?

Complimentary scoring?
A top pairing defenseman?
A Shut-down defenseman?
A goalie who can remain uninjured and post a.915 to .920 save percentage?

Nice one, RB, I've been thinking as much since Saturday, when I watched a hopelessly outgunned Flames team get bailed out yet again by Kipper against the Kings. It really convinces me that the Flames have been duped into thinking their creaky held together by chewing gum and baling wire roster was not as mediocre as it has been for the last years, by the 15-20 points a year handed to them by Kipper. I really would rather bottom feed for a few years if it means I get to watch a BEAST like Hall and a magician like Eberle for the next decade. Not to mention RNH and whoever we get in July. It also convinces me that a goalie should be the last piece of the puzzle - otherwise a horse like Kipper can paper over a lot of holes that should otherwise have been filled.

Good game by the Oilers, certainly kicked the snot out of my listless, downright terrible at times Flames.

+/- is completely irrelevant, Hall and Eberle could be skating in, shooting, then bailing off the ice as they give up a 3 on 1 rush. Your 3rd line could simply be the recipient of some bad circumstances such as these.

The Oil were very aggressive on the forecheck much like the Rangers.
When they stand back and trap we spend too much time in our own end.

We moved the puck out of our own end by long headman passes or skating out the middle.Most of the year we have tried to bring it up the boards and have been bottled up as the opposition knew our system.

I don't know if the change behind the bench caused this but I like the aggressive game plan.

Wow this article starts off saying that it's not by a homer, then proceeds to be a complete homer article.

Great, the Oilers have some good young players. The holes in the team are not "Spackle over" types of holes. As it stands, the Oilers will likely have to score 7 goals a night to win games next year. The defence is horrid and the goaltending is worse! There is a really good top line and a pretty good second line. Enjoy your season next year because you'll have to pay these players starting the year after.

Why do people look at the Flames and not see that they are playing with half an AHL roster? On top of that there's players not up yet Baertschi, Bill Arnold, John Gaudreau. Young players that the Oilers would like to have T.J. Brodie, Leyland Irving.

I tuned into the game last night half-expecting to be flipping over to another channel by the third and I was pleasantly surprised to see the Oilers come out and actually give a solid effort from top to bottom in the lineup.

I think the difference I saw in them last night was this: when the Oilers play high octane hockey and turn on the jets, when their timing is off or they play against a solid defensive team (such as Detroit or Vancouver) who know how to position themselves or get their sticks into passing lanes, it's a disasterous turnover-filled extravaganza; when the Oilers swarm and use their speed to drive through defensive coverage and to the net, they look damn near unstoppable. They did it to Calgary last night and did it to Chicago twice this year. Even on the dump in's, they gave chase and put pressure on the Flames. And in their defensive zone, rather than be passive, they used their speed to pressure the Flames into turnovers. They played puck possession in their own zone and the neutral zone and saved the fancy passing for the offensive zone-- they way they should play!

Last night, it looked like the Flames were an old, tired cluster of pilons and the Oilers were just hitting their stride.

Wow this article starts off saying that it's not by a homer, then proceeds to be a complete homer article.

Great, the Oilers have some good young players. The holes in the team are not "Spackle over" types of holes. As it stands, the Oilers will likely have to score 7 goals a night to win games next year. The defence is horrid and the goaltending is worse! There is a really good top line and a pretty good second line. Enjoy your season next year because you'll have to pay these players starting the year after.

Why do people look at the Flames and not see that they are playing with half an AHL roster? On top of that there's players not up yet Baertschi, Bill Arnold, John Gaudreau. Young players that the Oilers would like to have T.J. Brodie, Leyland Irving.

Save it Brownlee, we may not continue the crushing wins next year but the Oilers will be hard pressed to beat them any given night. As for finishing ahead, well your team has yet to prove anything.

Sensitive much, don't complain about injuries or anything else cause anything that can happen to a team in terms of injuries has happened to Edmonton. All your team has is a geriatric Kipper and Iginla trying to hold on to an ever fading past and no future prospects to speak of, if one of the four players you mentioned works out Ill be suprised.

Yeah, the Oilers are going to have to pay the young kids, thats how it works dumbass. But with free agency after 7 years in the league we have the kids as a core till they are around 25 and for the next 5-7 years, now its just a matter of building around them. Don't say the rebuild hasn't worked either cause you obviously haven't got a clue whats going on outside of Calgary. The Oilers are in year 3 of it, adding vets around high end picks is the key now as I mentioned above.

As for injuries this year for the Oilers, Hopkins, Hall, Eberle, Whitney, Gilbert and Barker were out at the same time. Your lucky Hopkins was out last night the score would have been worse.

So enjoy missing the playoffs again, getting a mid round pick and trying to convince your self that next year will be different.

Every game that goes by where Hemsky has shown up, and seems to have abandoned the disengaged look of his, is another night i ponder changing my position on keeping Hemsky or not.

I am starting to lean more and more towards signing him again. Even if it's 4 years at 5m/year.

If the Oilers end up selecting Grigorenko in the up coming draft, I cannot help but think the Oilers will rush him into the NHL if we somehow Move Hemsky at the trade deadline and/or at seasons end he walks away.

I think it's really important we treat Grig with the proper respect and be sure to develop him the way he should be. This means a year or two in the AHL, then atleast a year in the NHL on the 4th/3rd lines. In the mean time we need a 2nd line RW for the next 2-3 years, so signing Hemsky to maintain that role isn't such a bad thing in my mind.

The Oilers need a Goalie and a decent Defenseman. Hemsky is probably our only piece that we could move in a trade to get one of those two, but what are the chances that it happens at the trade deadline? My guess is Nil. That pretty much means we need to re-sign Hemsky, and then Sign a D and a G in the off season on the FA Market.

Long story short: I'm conflicted about where the team should go. I'm not sure if keeping our current guys is going to get us to where we want to be next year (Getting better via development and experience) or if we truly need to bring in some new people.

I will say that I'm happy that Duby will get a good string of games back to back so he can finally show us what he's made of. It's time to figure out where we stand with regards to our Goaltenders.

Good game by the Oilers, certainly kicked the snot out of my listless, downright terrible at times Flames.

+/- is completely irrelevant, Hall and Eberle could be skating in, shooting, then bailing off the ice as they give up a 3 on 1 rush. Your 3rd line could simply be the recipient of some bad circumstances such as these.

+/- isn't completely irrelevant, Ryan Murray was +2 last night in a 7-2 loss. It doesn't tell the full story, but it probably means that the play was more in control with him on the ice and that he played well.

Gagner and Eberle were +11 in chances last night which is a ridiculous game...Taylor Hall +9

Yeah, injuries are not an excuse. This I know. Yet the Flames, with their old, "ever fading" team are vying for a playoff spot. Weird. The Oilers with their unbelievable talent are still in a lottery position. How about discussing you're currently situation, not things that haven't happened. Perhaps you can even use the tried and true '5 CUPS' argument about things that happened 20 plus years ago?

Compare yourself to Chicago all you want but didn't Toews and Kake win a cup only two years after being drafted? How close are the Oilers coming this year?

Perhaps the Oilers are more like the Islanders and Panthers than the Blackhawks? :)

Wow this article starts off saying that it's not by a homer, then proceeds to be a complete homer article.

Great, the Oilers have some good young players. The holes in the team are not "Spackle over" types of holes. As it stands, the Oilers will likely have to score 7 goals a night to win games next year. The defence is horrid and the goaltending is worse! There is a really good top line and a pretty good second line. Enjoy your season next year because you'll have to pay these players starting the year after.

Why do people look at the Flames and not see that they are playing with half an AHL roster? On top of that there's players not up yet Baertschi, Bill Arnold, John Gaudreau. Young players that the Oilers would like to have T.J. Brodie, Leyland Irving.

Save it Brownlee, we may not continue the crushing wins next year but the Oilers will be hard pressed to beat them any given night. As for finishing ahead, well your team has yet to prove anything.

The thing that makes me laugh a lot is Flames fans who talk about Beartschi, Arnold Whoever and John GaudWhoTheF as being their future and the comparable to Eberle, Hall and RNH.

I remember a time 4-5 years ago when us Oiler fans were delusional about Pouliot, Jacques and Nilson types.

Argue the best path to take (UFA, trades VS draft and develop). Argue who's vets are better. Debate the style of play and grit. But when Calgary fans argue their prospect pool is deep and comparable its just pure laughs.

I truly hope you enjoy missing the playoffs by 1 point and drafting another John GaudWhoTheF this spring.

Wow this article starts off saying that it's not by a homer, then proceeds to be a complete homer article.

Great, the Oilers have some good young players. The holes in the team are not "Spackle over" types of holes. As it stands, the Oilers will likely have to score 7 goals a night to win games next year. The defence is horrid and the goaltending is worse! There is a really good top line and a pretty good second line. Enjoy your season next year because you'll have to pay these players starting the year after.

Why do people look at the Flames and not see that they are playing with half an AHL roster? On top of that there's players not up yet Baertschi, Bill Arnold, John Gaudreau. Young players that the Oilers would like to have T.J. Brodie, Leyland Irving.

Save it Brownlee, we may not continue the crushing wins next year but the Oilers will be hard pressed to beat them any given night. As for finishing ahead, well your team has yet to prove anything.

Wow!

Are you spending too much time around the Coral in Calgary sniffing cow dung or did a one cow kick you in the side of the head cause you're clearly delusional...

The Flames have been in trouble for years. They've just been better at masking their issues by signing free agents to make up for their lack of organisational depth.

I lived in Calgary for 2 years (I tell people i was on a work Visa) and Flames fans are so mis-informed about their team. They've built up Backland to be the next Haaken Loob. At age 22 I'd much rather take a Sam Gagner than this kid. Talk about a bust.

In goal the Flames are hurting.If it weren't for Kipper starting an avg. of 74 games a year, they don't even make the playoffs. If Karlsson is the future number 1, I'd be making reservations at the lottery table for 3-4 years.

The Flames have had a schizophrenic locker room by releasing Jokinen, Cammalleri and Tanguay then re-signing them. They traded away arguably their best draft pick and best defenseman in Phaneuf.

The Flames answer to a glaring hole on defense is to sign Bouwmeester until 2014 at 6.6mil.

And you're saying the Flames have a better future than Edmonton does?

Normally, I'd try to be a little more empathetic but clearly you don't have the first clue if the basis of your argument rests on players like Jones, Backlund and Smith.

Well, after the Oilers finally ended the curse of Minny this year, I saw a change in them when they played Minny. The Oilers play them pretty evenly now.
Lets hope for the same now that we have ended the Calgary Curse.

Whoa, Grange.
I apologize. I didn't realize that the flames had The Bill Arnold as one of their prospects. They are calling him The Next One down in the ECHL or wherever he is playing I'm sure. Hahahahaha, Bill Arnold, oh that is priceless.
And John Gaudawful.

Do you actually consider Baertschi (13th overall), Arnold (108th) and Gaudreau (104th) to be comparable prospects to Hall, Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins?

If so, I suggest you take another look. If not, then what separates them from the host of second-tier prospects that have come and gone with the Oilers in past seasons -- Riley Nash, Andrew Cogliano, Danny Syvret etc, etc? Who fills the void as Iginla and Kiprusoff decline?

The Flames are repeating the mistakes the Oilers made after the 2006 Cup run. That did not go well here. It's going on three years since the Oilers finally dropped the "we can win now" charade and started the tear-down and there's still a lot of room for improvement before the Oilers truly contend.

That said, there is room for improvement, which is something I don't see when I look at Calgary's roster now, even if ALL the players you list turn out well. Is there another Iginla there? A truly special player? Is there a core of elite talent to build around? A trio like Hall, Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins (which in itself doesn't guarantee success unless Tambellini does a better job acquiring veterans and role players)? I don't see it.

What I see when I look at the Flames is a team headed the wrong way. You don't have to agree, but, like I said, come back in a year and tell me I'm wrong.

Oiler fans have a right to gloat. They kicked the teeth out of their bitter rivals who had dominated them for the past 4 years. That being said, don't get too far ahead of yourselves Oiler fans. The team you played tonight could've been beaten by the Lethbridge Hurricanes for Christ sakes (2nd last team in the WHL). the Flames came out with no effort and the Oilers came out with an effort. Good on 'em.

Also, it's ridiculous to say the Flames cupboards are bare. Sven Baertschi, Max Reinhart and Michael Ferland are all among the leading scorers in the WHL. Bill Arnold was the MVP of Team USA at the World Juniors and John Gaudreau was the MVP of the recent Beanpot tournament, a prestigious college tournament, as a freshman. Now obviously, they're not full by any stretch of the imagination. However, they are in a lot better shape then they were a few years ago.

Fact! The Oilers have great young players! The “holes” you speak of, which I believe Brownlee mentioned are in fact “transitional players” we are under no illusions that going forward our goaltending or defense will be the same, not so for your Flames.

As for “Paying” these players it’s called Cap Structure! It’s funny how non-Oiler fans always say the same thing, “Wait till you have to pay them” Take a look at the penguins who have signed there 5 first round picks with two of them being the highest paid players in the NHL, but I digress.

I think someone already mentioned the injuries to the Oilers this year so I won’t get into that.

As for “prospects” Please! It’s not even close. The Flames have one of the worst organizational depth in the entire NHL, that’s a fact!

Face it, The Oilers are a goalie and a top pairing defenseman away from owning the Flames for the better part of a decade again!

Do you actually consider Baertschi (13th overall), Arnold (108th) and Gaudreau (104th) to be comparable prospects to Hall, Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins?

If so, I suggest you take another look. If not, then what separates them from the host of second-tier prospects that have come and gone with the Oilers in past seasons -- Riley Nash, Andrew Cogliano, Danny Syvret etc, etc? Who fills the void as Iginla and Kiprusoff decline?

The Flames are repeating the mistakes the Oilers made after the 2006 Cup run. That did not go well here. It's going on three years since the Oilers finally dropped the "we can win now" charade and started the tear-down and there's still a lot of room for improvement before the Oilers truly contend.

That said, there is room for improvement, which is something I don't see when I look at Calgary's roster now, even if ALL the players you list turn out well. Is there another Iginla there? A truly special player? Is there a core of elite talent to build around? A trio like Hall, Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins (which in itself doesn't guarantee success unless Tambellini does a better job acquiring veterans and role players)? I don't see it.

What I see when I look at the Flames is a team headed the wrong way. You don't have to agree, but, like I said, come back in a year and tell me I'm wrong.

As I stated earlier, I didn't say they were comparable. We don't know what Baertschi will be at the NHL level. We don't know what Arnold and Gaudreau will be at the NHL level or if they will make the NHL jump. They are impressive young talent though, not to be overlooked.

The mistakes of Darryl Sutter are many, most fans wanted to part ways with him long before they did. However the best thing that happened is allowing someone, who knows he isn't a hockey person, take the reigns and hire many hockey people around him. Shake up and then bolster the scouting staff.

As far as Iginla, how do you replace a future HHoF player? That's a HUGE order to fill, and no, there isn't a replacement. Kiprusoff? That's a tall order as well. Leyland looks like he will eventually be a good goaltender, but he's still young and it's too hard to say. Karri Ramo? Perhaps he got over being thrown to the wolves in Tampa?

I believe that Baertschi will be a special player though saying he is a future HHoF'er? Something would have to change for him.

I disagree, the Flames are starting to turn the ship around. Had you made this comment last year I would have had to agree with you. The mindset in the organization has changed though. While they're not where they need to be, they're on the slow path.